DOCUMENT  No.  li, 

ISSUED  BY  THE 


ational  Anti-Monopoly  Leap*, 

NO.  7  WARREN  ST.,  NEW  YORK. 

BRANCH  LEAGUES  THROUGHOUT  TH1  UNITED  STATES. 


HE  ATTENTION  OF  THINKING  MEN 
EARNESTLY  INVITED  TO  A  FEW 
EXTRACTS  INDICATING 


mm  crisis. 


THE 


"  The  modern  barons,  more  powerful  than  their 
military  prototypes,  own  our  greatest  nighwaye 
and  levy  tribute  at  will  upon  all  our  vast  indus- 
tries. And,  as  the  old  feudalism  was  finally  con- 
trolled and  subordinated  only  by  the  combined 
efforts  of  the  kings  and  the  people  of  the  free 
cities  and  towns,  so  our  modern  feudalism  can  be 
subordinated  to  the  public  good  only  by  the  great 
body  of  the  people,  acting  through  their  govern- 
ment by  wise  and  just  laws."— James  A.  Garfield. 


  cusncji 

THE 

National  Anti-Monopoly  League 


OUR  PRINCIPLES : 

Anti-Monopoly. 

We  advocate,  and  will  support  and  defend,  th 
rights  of  the  many  as  against  privileges  for  th 
few. 

Corporations,  the  creation  of  the  State,  shall  b 
controlled  by  the  State. 

Labor  and  capital— allies,  not  enemies;  justic 
for  both. 

L.  E.  Chittenden,  President. 
Henry  Nh  hols,  Secretary. 
F.  B.  Thurber,  Treasurer. 

Vit  c- Presidents : 
Peter  Cooper. 
John  H.  Reagan. 
Harris  M.  Plaisted. 


Correspondence  bolicited  from  all  persons  favor 
ing  our  principles. 

Constitution  and  by-laws,  with  hints  how  to  or 
ganii'*.'  oranch  leagues,  sent  on" application. 


"  Honestly  and  equitably  managed,  railroads  are  th 
most  beneficent  discovery  of  the  century,  but  perverte< 
by  irresponsible  and  uncontrolled  corporate  manage 
ment,  in  which  stock- watering  and  kindred  swindles  ar 
to'lerated,  and  favoritism  in  charges  is  permitted,  the: 
become  simply  great  engines  to  accomplish  unequal  tax 
ation.  and  to  arbitrarily  re-distribute  the  wealth  of  th 
eountry,   When  this  state  of  things  is  sought  to  be  per 

f actuated  by  acquiring  political  power  and  shaping  legis 
ation  through  corrupt  use  of  money,  the  situation  be 
eomes  more  serious/—  Report  N.  Y.  Board  of  Trad** 


3 


CONSERVATIVE  REFORM. 

Yonkers  Statesman,  Jan,  26,  1882. 

There  must  be  no  monopoly  of  anti-monopoly.  Neither 
the  Democratic  party,  nor  any  faction  of  it  should  be 
allowed  to  seize  control  of  this  reform,  which  is  so  im- 
perative, and  for  which  the  public  is  so  ripe.  It  should 
be  guided  and  directed  from  the  top,  not  from  the  bot- 
tom. Its  spirit  ought  not  to  come  from  the  slums  of  a 
city,  which  are  tinctured  with  more  or  less  hostility  to 
all  accumulations.  It  is  obvious  that  all  property  is  en- 
dangered when  the  aver  age  man  can,  by  a  lifetime  of 
earnest  work  and  frugality, accumulate  little  or  nothing, 
and  when  a  favored  few,  living  in  indolent  luxury,  can, 
through  legislative  grants  and  governmental  favors, 
pile  up  many  millions.  The  injustice  and  inequality  are 
so  apparent  and  gross,  that  they  cannot  possibly  be 
maintained.  If  met  in  time,  the  evil  can  be  remedied  in 
deliberation,  thoughtfully  and  justly.  If  resisted  too 
long,  the  remedy  will  come  from  the  bottom,  in  a  revo- 
lution, in  which  all  property  and  the  State  itself  will 
suffer. 

Had  the  slaveholders  yielded  gently  to  public  opinion, 
that  gigantic  wrong  would  have  been  corrected  without 
any  great  upheaval  or  loss.  Slavery  would  have  been 
gradually  exterminated  *  *  *  and  the  slaveholders 
could  have  retired,  during  a  period  of  years,  from  their 
false  position  without  serious  loss  or  injury.  But  they 
clung  tenaciously  to  the  last  to  the  most  absurd  de- 
mands; the  Nation  was  driven  to  a  revolution  during 
which  every  vestige  ot  their  property  was  annihilated. 

So  with  these  railroad  men.  By  submitting  gracefully 
:now  to  a  conservative,  intelligent  public  opinion,  they 
can  retain  much  of  their  grabbings  and  plunderings. 
iThey  are  as  yet  protected  and  defended  by  the  instinc- 
tive regard  which  protects  all  private  property.  They 
can,  and  they  seem,  to  be  inclined  to,  drive  matters  until 
they  culminate  in  revolution.  Then  their  fictitious  bond3 
and  stocks,  their  waterings  and  their  grants  froui  Leg- 
islatures, secured  by  corruption  and  bribery,  <voutd  be 
swept  away  as  clean  as  was  the  right  of  property0 in 
iiaves."  Several  of  the  most  conservative  Natioaa 


been  compelled  to  abandon  their  theories  of  property 
order  to  save  themselves  from  the  Inordinate  accural 
tions  of  the  church.  With  great  reluctance,  but  <kfa 
to  it  by  an  imperious  necessity  for  self-safety,  th<>y  ha' 
resorted  to  confiscation.  If  this  reform  is  checked  ai 
prevented  until  it  comes  from  the  bottom  it  will  end  I 
wild  confiscation,  too. 

From  the  K  T.  Evening  Pout. 
All  this,  we  may  be  sure,  is  not  a  summer  cloud  thi 
can  overcome  the  community  without  causing  eith 
special  fear  or  wonder.  It  betokens  a  real,  a  meuacin 
a  present  danger.  It  implies  that  a  time  has  come  writ 
the  forces  of  public  opinion  must  be  6ct  at  work  in  ear 
estto  breast  and  bear  back  a  grievous  calamity.  S 
piueuess  will  not  answer;  to  close  our  eyes  and  stop  01 
ears  will  not  answer.  A  moment  has  arrived  when  \ 
must  change  all  that;  a  moment  when  legislate 
and  those  who  bribe  them  must  cry  halt;  "cor 
Diners"  and  "eonsolidators"  and  ad  other  plotte 
against  the  common  weal  in  the  interest  of  corpora 
monopoly  must  be  teld  in  trumpet  tones,  and  in  som 
thing  more  than  words  if  need  be,  "Thus  far  shall  ye  i 
and  no  further."  • 

From  thJ.  N.  T.  Dxily  Graphic. 
If  we  ever  have  a  conflict  between  capital  and  labor 
this  country,  it  will  be  b  3cause  of  the  injustice  done  tJ 
masses  b  v  a  >rporate  monopolies.  It  therefore  behoov* 
all  classes  of  citizens,  and  particularly  those  who  ha' 
property,  to  sustain  the  efforts  now  being  made  by  re 
Bonable  and  intelligent  citizens  to  limit  the  power 
men  who,  to  use  the  words  of  a  committee  of  the  Unit* 
States  Sen  ite,  "recognize  no  principle  of  action  but  pe 
sonal  and  corporate  aggrandizement." 

From  the  Memphis  Appeal. 
The  problem  is  worth  consideration,  for  monopolis 
and  railway  discriminators  are  certainly  making  m£ 
ters  uncomfortable.  *  *  *  It  is  to  the  interest 
corporate    managers   so  to    do   their  business* 
to  retain  the  good  feeling  of  the  people  on  th< 
side,  but  UHade4  toy  the  desire  of  gain  to-day,  eo 


5 


orations  do  not  look  to  to-morrow,  and  they  are  raising 
n  indignant  spirit  of  resistance  that  bodes  no  good. 

From  the  Brooklyn  Dxily  Eagle. 

There  is  a  pretty  general  feeling  that  the  Continent 
;-f  America  was  not  discovered  by' Columbus,  and  civil 

berty  established  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Kepublic,  t<> 
he  end  that  fifty  millions  of  people  might  be  made  trib- 
tary  to  a  band  of  railroad  magnates,  or  that  farmers, 
rtisans  and  merchants  might,  by  hard  work  and  keen 
ompetition.raise  up  a  dozen  Yan  lerbilts,  with  each  sev- 
,ral  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  Those  who  entertain 
bis  feeling  have  become  persuaded  that  the  time  has 
rrived  for  the  industrious  masses  of  this  country  to 
I  rotect  themselves,  if  they  ever  intend  to  do  so.  It  will 
<>r tainly  not  bo  easier  after  the  adversary  has  grown 
trongor.  In  this  contest  every  delay  is  to  the  disadvan- 
age  of  the  people.  Let  the  issue  be  deferred  for  a  few 
I 'ears,  and  nothing  but  a  miracle  or  a  revolution  as  vio- 
lent as  that  of  France  will  overthrow  the  oppression. 
M  all  misleading  delusions,  there  is  none  more  mis- 
hievous  than  the  notion  that  popular  suffrage  and  pop- 
ilar  power  arc  synonomous.  Given  the  means  of  brib- 
og  multitudes,  of  intimidating  others,  of  wrecking  op- 
)onents,  coupled  with  actual  possession  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  adverse  sentiment  must  be  paralyz  >d.  If  the 
cuftrage  is  to  be  our  salvation,  it  must  be  applied  sharply 
fvhile  there  are  still  odds  on  the  side  of  unbought  and 
interrorized  manhood. 

From  the  Anglo-American  Times. 
i  The  tendency  of  all  close  bodies  like  corporations  is 
10  usurp,  because  they  are  soulless  and  are  therefore 
vorked  beyond  any  influence  of  sentiment.  By  degrees, 
Unless  checked,  they  will  absorb  all  rights  and  privi- 
leges within  their  scope,  till  gradually  the  sovereignty 
lsurped  appears  rightfully  and  by  law  to  be 
[3xercised  by  them.  This  has  always  been  the  ten- 
dency of  railroad  property  in  such  countries  as 
:he  United  Kingdom  and  the  United  States,  because,  in 
feese,  property  exercises  the  most  influence,  and  corpor- 
'itjidtts  aara  ner.aii.t±ed  to  erect  themselves  into  a  sort  of 


6 


Jmperium  in  imperio,  whereas  such  countries  as  Frai  I 
Germany,  llussia,  assume  a  supreme  and  direct  con  I 
over  railways:  even  so  in  British  India.  The  Corp*  I 
tion  therefore,  is  always  under  the  governmental  ch<  I 
and  it  is  nut  permitted  to  take  on  itself  functions  j  I 
taining  to  government.  In  no  other  country,  howc 
has  the  power  of  the  railway  corporations  become 
great  as  in  the  United  States.  *   *  *  The  ambltioD 
the  person  has  thus  been  allied  with  the  soulless  chai 
ter  of  the  corporation ;  and  as  a  consequence  a  num 
of  autocrats,  exceeding  in  wealth  and  the  control  tl 
exercise  any  body  of  nobles  in  any  country  at  i 
period,  has  been  created  in  the  United  States." 

From  the  Chicago  Fj  press. 
The  curse  of  the  country  Is  not  bank  monopoly  alo 
nor  railroad  monopoly,  but  a  tendency  to  concentr 
and  centralize  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  people 
means  of  monopolizing  the  wealth  resources  of  the 
tion,  and  thereby  commanding  the  political  forces  of 
Government.  Not  a  branch  of  industry  nor  an  elem 
of  sovereignty  but  is  under  the  ban  of  monopoly.  I 
a  legislative  body  nor  hardly  a  representative  of 
people  but  is  a  slave  to  its  imperial  dictation. 

From  the  N.  Y.  Times. 
Nobody  questions  the  value  of  railroads  to  the  pul 
or  the  necessity  of  the  corporate  organizations  by  wh 
they  are  owned,  but  unless  they  are  brought  under 
wholesome  control  of  law,  whereby  the  rights  of  ir 
vidual  citizens  and  of  the  community  at  large  can 
secured,  sooner  or  later  a  conflict  will  come  betw< 
their  power  and  the  might  of  the  people  which  will  ah* 
the  very  foundation  of  laws  and  order. 

From  Truth  (N.  Y.) 
That  we  are  on  the  eve  of  an  industrial  re 
lution  every  candid  observer  of  events  must  c 
cede.  But  whether  it  is  to  be  violent  and  bloo 
and  terminate  in  the  more  complete  subjection 
the  people  by  the  power  of  concentrated  capital, 
whether  it  is  to  be  peaceful  and  triumphant,  no  man  c 
guess. 


7 


From  the  X.  Y.  Maritime  Register. 
uch  has  been  said  about  monopoly  and  anti-mono  - 
and  the  latter  has  been  condemned  in  influential 
~ters  as  only  a  spasmodic  movement  with  politicians 
back.  Time  will  prove  the  contrary.  The  anti- 
iopoly  feeling  is  growing  among  the  great  mass  of 
people.  They  see  in  the  gigantic  monopolies  which 
mpede  healthy  progress,  an  evil  of  the  greatest 
nitude.   They  see  in  them  a  power  which  will  sepa- 
people  into  two  great  classes— those  who  control 
belong  to  monopolies,  and  those  who  must  submit 
eir  mandates.  Comparatively  few  people  enter  into 
distinctions.  The  majority  recognize  two  or  three 
ninent  features  and  are  guided  by  them.  It  is  this 
acteristic  that  wTill  obtain  in  the  monopoly  fight, 
le  recognize  in  monopoly  a  power  which  closes 
avenue  of  advancement  and  prosperity  to  all  but 
avoredfew;  a  power  that  would  be  master  of  all 
,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  They  see  that  this 
them  practically  at  the  mercy  or  the  few.  The 
of  our  institutions  is  opposed  to  that.  These  points 
11  that  they  need  to  strengthen  their  determination 
leave  the  contest  until  a  more  equitable  condition 
fairs -is  established. 

RAILROAD  POWER. 
C.  Lord,  ex-president  of  the  I.  C.  &  L.  railroad, 
the  following  to  the  Locomotive  Engineers'  Jour- 
"We  have  had  a  civil  w;*r,  wonderlul  in  its  propor- 
its  terrible  cost  of  life,  human  suffering,  treasure, 
ational  credit ;  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all  pride  and 
ting,  how  do  we  stand  to-day?  I  put  the  question 
honestly  and  earnestly,  and  future  history  will 
rer  it.  Is  not  capital  realized  through  devious  ways 
by  means  of  unjust  methods  reveling  in  luxury 
labor  is  comparatively  unrewarded,  deferred, 
unpaid  and  too  often  despised?  Is  not  this  an  era 
is  country  in  which  mediocrity,  pride  and  public 
lption  are  holding  high  carnival ;  can  railway  man- 
3  accumulate  great  fortunes  in  half  a  score  ot  years 
)t  at  the  ultimate,  if  not  the  immediate,  expense  of 
•?  If  not  of  it,  of  what?  It  must  strike  every  think- 


8 


Lng  man  that  the  pride  ami  avarice  of  our  country  I 
growing  too  rapidly  and  without  any  sufficient  causl 
and  It  will  bo  better  to  put  the  brakes  on  in  time."  L I 
my  readers  commence,  if  they  please,  at  Washington  • 
New  York,  and  prosecute  their  Investigations  ovrai 
through  the  railways  spanning  this  continent  and  ccl 
neetingthe  waters  and  commerce  of  tie*  Atlantic  aj 
Paeiiic,  and  tell  me  when  and  where  public  integrity  h 
prevails '.1  against  both  political  and  financial  corru 
Uod,  or  where  capital  and  greed  have  not  taken  an  u 
fair  advantage  over  the  rightful  property  and  labor 
the  people." 

From  the  Kearney  (Nebraska)  Press. 

The  virtue  of  the  people  must  be  placed  against  t 
money  of  monopolies,  and  if  our  present  form  of  gc 
ernraeut  is  worth  preserving  they  will  prevail.  T 
danger  is  imminent  to  the  country,  and  should  be  n 
with  the  same  spirit  and  courage  shown  by  the  you 
Republican  party  when  it  met,  restricted  and  lina 
abolished  slavery. 

From  the  Washington  Pont. 
The  managers  of  railroads  in  this  country  show  1<  1 
intelligence  in  dealing  wiih  the  public  than  the  own<  I 
of  any  and  all  other  property.  The  patience  of  the  p<  1 
pie  is  taxed  to  its  utmost  limit  year  after  year  by  re  J 
road  corporations.  No  obligation  into  which  they  en  1 
with  the  public,  or  which  is  imposed  upon  them  by  la 
is  voluntarily  performed.   The  history  of  their  dcalir  i 
with  the  Government  is  a  history  of  evasion,  decepti* 
and  stealth.  They  water  their  stock  in  orcl^toabsc 
their  earnings  and  make  appear  reasonable  their  oth 
wise  extravagant  dividends,  the  result  of  extortion; 
charges.    The  beneficiaries  of  muniticent  land  grai 
disregard  the  conditions  under  which  they  receive  the 
endowments  and  retain  the  benefit  thereof. 

from  the  Am  rican  Dairyman. 
All  intelligent  citizens  must  appreciate  the  facttl 
tariff,  transportation,  telegraph,  trade,  and  patent  r 
nopolles  are  fast  concentrating  the  wealth  of  the  nat  i 
in  the  hands  of  a  favored  few,  and  that  if  the  pres. 


9 


ostein  continues  much  longer  we  will  have  m  this  coun- 
y  an  aristocracy  and  a  peasantry  with  lines  as  dis- 
.nctly  drawn  as  they  are  in  the  older  countries  of  the 
•orld. 

From  the  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 
If  the  past  may  be  accepted  as  a  fair  index  of  what  is 
3  come,  it  will  be  but  a  few  years  at  furthest  before  rail- 
oad  monopolists  will  dictate  the  laws  and  control  alike 
he  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  departments  of 
he  Government,  own  the  territory,  and  fetter  the  work- 
3g  classes  with  the  shackles  of  peonage.  Already  some 
f  these  corporations  closely  approximate  that  measure 
f  power,  aLd,  unless  their  arrogance  is  signally  re- 
uked,  their  aggressiveness  checked,  and  they  are 
>rced  to  deal  justly  and  respect  the  rights  of  the  peo- 
le,  the  existing  form  of  government  will  collapse,  and 
n  its  ruins  will  be  reared  i.n  oligarchy  of  wealth. 

From  th*  New  York  Real  Estate  Chronicle. 
THE  COUNTRY'S  DANGER. 
There  is  real  danger  to  the  country  in  the  vast  ex- 
ansion  of  power  which  the  monopolists  have  secured, 
nd  by  the  time  the  people  perceive  the  coils  that  are 
eing  wound  around  their  necks  there  may  be  trouble, 
he  safest  way  is  to  look  the  situation  squarely  in  the 
ice  and  to  understand  that  the  entire  business  of  the 
'ountry,  linked  as  it  is  to-day  to  the  t  legraph  and  the 
ress,  is  virtually  at  the  mercy  of  Jay  Gould,  Cyrus  \V. 
ield  and  D.  O.  Mills.  They  own  th  ;  cables  to  Europe, 
le  entire  telegraphic  machinery  on  this  Continent,  and 
iree  out  of  the  seven  newspapers  of  the  Associated 
f'ress.  One  paper  more  and  the  triumvirate  will  have 
toe  majority  of  that  organization. 
Do  the  people  as  yet  understand  the  importance  of 
his?  It  means  that  this  triumvirate  wid  have  the  news 
f  the  markets  of  the  world  in  their  possession,  can 
perate  in  accordance  with  this  news  ]nr>  r  before  the 
reat  public  i&  made  aware  of  the  ucaangs  uio  Lon- 
on  Stock  Exchange,  the  Paris  Bourse,  or  the  Chicago 
rain  market.  One  week's  operations  in  this  manner 
lone  will  pay  for  the  cons  traction  of  more  and  more 
bles  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 


10 


The  masses  will  say  "Organize  an  opposition  Asso- 
ciated Press,"  but  how  can  newspapers  construct  tele- 
graph 11  nee  when  the  entire  machinery  is  already  in  the 
hands  of  the  monopolists?  There  is  only  one  remedy, 
and  tliat  is  for  the  Government  to  take  possession  ol 
the  wires  and  deal  on  an  equal  and  ju-t  footing  with  all 
those  using  Lh>-  ti-1. -graph-. 

From  the  Oniaha  Bee. 

Railroad  millionaires  are  already  a  menace  to  free 
institutions,  and  the  country  will  not  stand  it  to  have 
many  more  of  them  created. 

Ffom  the  Cincinnati  Gazette. 

Honest  railroad  management  is  what  is  needed  in 
this  country;  and  it  is  needed  badly. 

From  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce. 
Sooner  or  later  the   people  will  understand  their 
-jghts  and  will  maintain  them,  if  this  is  their  Govern- 
ment and  not  one  of  railroad  pools  and  rings. 

From  the  Rochester  Morning  Hrald. 

They  have  been  hedged  in  and  protected  on  every 
6ide  by  statutes  in  their  interests,  while  the  people  who 
have  nourished  them  until  they  have  grown  to  the  stat- 
ure of  giants,  and  in  many  cases  the  insolence  and  de- 
spotism of  tyrants,  are  left  almost  wholly  at  tneir  m-orcy. 
It  is  surely  time  that  the  people  began  to  look  after 
their  own  interests. 

From  the  Buffalo  Express. 

No  people  in  th<?  world  have  welcomed  tho  railroad 
era  so  joyfully  as  Americans;  no  other  people  have 
done  so  much  by  land  grants  and  corporate  aid  to  build 
railroads;  no  other  people  have  so  fully  recogniz  ed  the 
value  ol  railroad  transportation.  If  railroad  managers 
have  chilled  this  cordiality,  and  changed  it  to  distrust, 
they  can  blame  nothing  but  their  shortsightedness. 
From  Publ'v:  Opinion.  • 

Oliver  Cromwell,  fresh  from  his  great  victory  at 
Dunbar,  wrote  to  the  British  Parliament:  "Make  wise 
laws;  relieve  the  oppressed;  hear  the  groans  of  poor  pris 


11 


I  oners.  Be  pleased  to  reform  the  abuses  in  the  law  and  aV 
i  the  professions.   And  if  there  be  any  that  tend  to  make 
many  poor  and  to  make  a  few  rich — that  suits  not  a  Common- 
wealth.' Ah!  there  spake  a  true 'friend  of  the  People,' 
and  a  genuine  Anti-Monopolist. 

From  the  Boston  Journal  of  Commerce. 
"The  tendency  of  rapid  accumulation  of  property,  or 
what  represents  property,  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  is  one 
of  the  greatest  measures  of  subversion  of  sound  prin'ci- 
I  pies  of  Government,  and  has  proved  itself  so  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  nations,  and,  as  a  few  become  rieher,  the 
masses  of  the  people  become  poorer  iu  a  inverse  ratio. 

From  the  Cleveland  Leader. 
A  feeling  prevails  throughout  the  country  that  the 
present  management  of  our  railways  is  inimical  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  people.  This  feeling  has  begotten  a 
dissatisfaction  which  is  constantly  increasing  in  inten- 
sity, and  may  eventually  provoke  a  conflict  which  will 
'  end  disastrously  in  more  ways  than  one. 

ft  From  the  Western .  Stock  Journal,  Iowa  City,  Iowa. 
i  Combinations  of  men  who  own  large  capital  for  the 
•  purpose  of  controlling  great  and  important  business  in- 
I  terests  are  the  overshadowing  evil  of  the  present  time. 

From  the  St.  Joseph  (Mo.)  H-rald. 
The  great  danger  of  the  day  is  the  power  of  corpora- 
tions. We  feel  it  on  election  day,  we  see  it  in  Congress, 
we  feel  it  every  time  there  is  a  change  in  freights,  fares 
and  telegraph  rates. 

From  the  Portsmouth  (  Va.)  Times. 
i  Trouble,  serious  trouble,  will  just  as  surely  grow  out 
of  the  present  state  of  affairs,  and  be  precipitated  by 
unjust  railroad  management  and  discrimination  and  the 
i  exercise  of  the  power  and  influence  of  railroad  monopo- 
lies in  State  and  national  elections,  as  that  day  follows 
night. 

From  the  Louisville  (Ky.)  Democrat. 

There  are  few  questions  of  more  importance  to  the 
general  welfare,  owing  to  the  aggressive  spirit  and  arro- 


12 

ganoc  of  the  great  railroad  corporations,  their  active 
participation  in  elections,  and  influence  in  legislative  as- 
semblies.  

*  The  above  are  only  a  few  specimens ;  a  volume 
might  be  filled  with  shnilar  extracts  from  both 
secular  and  reVgious  papers  throughout  the  United 
States.  The  monopolists  are  now  trying  to  prevent 
siwk  utterances  by  purchasing  or  subsiding  leading 
paper8,thereby  guiding  and  controlling  the  thoughtof 
the  nation.  The  people  must  counteract  this  by 
supporting  the  papers  which  sustain  the  pubtic  in- 
terest.   

NOTABLE  UTTERANCES. 

The  National  Board  of  Trade,  at  its  convention  In  1881 
adopted  a  report  which  declared  that: 

"  The  degree  to  which  tin*  great  powers  of  steam  and 
electricity  Have  been  allowed  to  pass  into  corporate 
hands,  which  employ  them  as  a  means  to  tax  the  public 
unduly  for  their  use,  is  at  this  time  forcing  Itsell  upon 
the  attention  of  our  statesmen,  and  there  is  a  widespread 
feeling  thai  the  publie  welfare  demands  that  the  power 
and  privileges  of  corporate  grants  shall  be  limited  in  the 
future." 

The  third  semi-annual  report  of  the  railroad  commis- 
sioners of  tne  State  of  Georgia,  submitted  May  1st,  1881 
says: 

-  The  moral  and  social  consequences  of  these  corrup- 
tions* are  even  worse  than  tne  political;  they  are  simply 
aDDalling  We  contemplate  them  with  anxiety  and  dis- 
may The  demoralization  is  worse  than  that  ot  war-as 
fraud  is  meaner  than  force,  and  trickery  than  violence. 
Aside  from  their  own  corruption^  the  operators  aim  di- 
rectly at  the  corruption  ot  the  Press  and  th*  Gov  em- 
inent"  *  *  *  "  Worse  even  than  a  purifying  storm  is 
this  malaria  in  the  air,  which  poisons  all  the  body  politic, 
and  corrupts  the  youth  oi  the  country  by  presenting  the 
highest  pnzes  of  society  to  its  most  unscrupulous  and 
unworthy  members. 

The  report  of  the  Legislative  Committee  that  investi- 
gated the  management  of  the  Erie  Railroad  in  1873  con- 
cludes with  the  following  remarkable  words: 
,  "It  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  ^  Bail  way 
has  been  alone  in  the  corrupt  use  of  money  for  the  pur- 
ples named ;  but  the  sudden  revolution  in  the  direction 


of  this  company  has  laid  bare  a  chapter  in  the  secret  his- 
tory of  railroad  management  such  as  has  not  been  per- 
mitted before.  It  exposes  the  reckless  and  prodigal 
use  of  money,  wrung  from  the  people  to  purchase  the 
election  of  the  people's  repres<jntatives,and  to  bribe  them 
when  in  office.  According  to  Mr.  Gould,  his  operations 
extended  into  four  different  States.  It  was  his  custom 
to  contribute  money  to  influence  both  nominations  and 
elections." 

In  1879,  a  committee  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York, 
Mr.  Hepburn,  chairman,  after  an  exhaustive  examina- 
tion, declared  that  the  charge  of  flagrant  abuses  in  rail- 
road management  has  been  fully  proven,  and  adds : 

"The  mistake  was  in  not  providing  proper  safe-guards 
to  protect  the  public  interest,  and  hold  the  railroads  to 
a  strict  accountability  for  th<  ir  transactions;  thus, 
though  the  laxity  of  our  laws  and  the  want  of  govern- 
mental control  (measurably  excusable,  considering  the 
unforseen  possibilities  of  railroad  development  at  the 
time  of  the  euactment  of  those  laws,  but  no  longer  par- 
donable in  the  light  of  the  evidence  her- with  submitted), 
have  crept  in  those  abuses  hereafter  mentioned,  so  glar- 
ing in  their  proportion  as  to  savor  of  fiction  rather  than 
actual  history. 

Hon.  David  Davis,  formerly  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  U.  S.,  now  acting  Vice  President  of  the  U.  S. 
says : 

'The  rapid  growth  of  corporate  power  and  the  malign 
influence  which  it  exerts  by  combination  on  the  national 
and  State  Legislatures  is  a  well  grounded  cause  of  alarm. 
A  struggle  is  pending  in  the  near  future  between  this 
overgrown  power,  with  its  vast  ramifications  all  over 
the  Union,  and  a  hard  grip  on  much  of  the  political  ma- 
chinery on  the  one  hand,  and  the  people  in  an  unorgan- 
ized condition  on  the  other,  for  control  of  the  Govern- 
ment. It  will  be  watched  by  every  patriot  with  inU  nse 
anxiety." 

Governor  Gray,  of  Indiana,  in  a  message  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  that  State  in  January  last  said : 

"In  my  judgment  the  republic  cannot  live  long  in  the 
atmosphere  which  now  surrounds  the  ballot  box.  Mon- 
ied  corporations,  to  secure  favorable  legislation  for 
themselves,  are  taking  an  active  part  in  elections  by 
furnishing  large  sums  of  money  to  corrupt  the  voter 
aud  purchase  special  privileges  rroiu  tao  Government* 
If  monev  cm  control  the  decision  at  the  ballot  box  it 
will  not  be  long  until  it  can  control  its  existence." 

The  Attorney-General  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 
commenting  upon  an  extraordinary  proceeding  in  the 


14 


Supre  no  Court,  Juno  3,  1881,  to  thwart  proceedings  in 

Stttuted  by  the  State  to  protect  the  public  interest  in 
the  case  of  the  New  York  elevated  railroads,  stated 
that  he  was : 

"  Amazed  now  at  the  power  that  corporations  seem  to 
have  to  embarrass  ix-cessary  legal  proceedings  taken 
against  them;  that  the  increase  or  the  Influence  of  cor- 
porations in  ti.is  country,  and  their  ability  to  thwart 
the  supervisory  proceeding  taken  against  them  by  the 
public  authorities  to  prevent  great  monopolies  or  to 
subject  them  to  [»i-Mp.M-  restraints,  an'  among  the  most 
marming  characteristics  of  the  lime,  and  constitute  a 
danger  to  which  all  the  people  must  be  aroused  before 
long  if  we  would  preserve  our  free  institutions." 

On  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  January,  1880,  Mr. 
Gowen,  then  President  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading 
Railroad,  in  an  argument  before  the  Committee  on  Com- 
merce of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States,  in  Washington,  said  : 

"I  have  heard  t  h  e  counsel  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road ( 'ompany,  standing  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Penn- 
sylvania, threaten  that  Court  with  the  displeasure  of  bis 
clients  it  it  decided  against  them,  and  all  the  blood  in 
my  body  tingle  1  with  shame  at  the  humiliating  spec- 
tacle." 

United  States  Senator  Windom,  in  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  the  Anti-Monopoly  League,  says: 

"  The  channels  of  thought  and  the  channels  of  com- 
merce, thus  owned  and  controlled  by  one  man,  or  by  a 
few  men.  what  is  to  restrain  corporate  power,  or  to  fix  a 
limit  to  its  exactions  upon  the  people?  What  is  then  to 
hinder  these  men  from  depressing  or  inflating  the  value 
of  all  kinds  of  property  to  suit  their  caprice  or  avarice, 
and  thereby  gathering  into  their  own  cotters  the  wea  1th 
of  the  nation?  Where  is  the  limit  to  such  a  power  as 
this?  What  shall  be  said  of  the  spirit  of  a  free  people 
who  will  submit  without  a  protest  to  be  thus  bound  hand 
and  foot?" 

Hon.  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  ex-Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  ex- Attorney- General  of  the  United  States,  re- 
cently stated: 

"  All  public  men  must  take  their  side  on  this  question. 
There  can  be  no  neutrals.  He  that  is  not  for  us  is  against 
us.  We  must  have  legal  protection  against  these  abuses. 
This  agitation  once  begun,  and  the  magnitude  of  the 
grievance  being  understood,  it  will  force  our  rulers  to 
give  us  a  remedy  against  it.  The  monopolies  will  resist 
with  ail  their  arts  and  influence,  but  fifty  millions  of 


15 


people,  in  process  of  time,  will  learn  the  important  fact 
that  they  are  hfty  millions  strong." 

After  reading  the  foregoing  who  can  doubt  that 
another  crisis  is  impending  and  that  the  only  way  to 
prevent  an  explosion  that  will  endanger  all  proper- 
ty, is  to  lift  the  safety  valve  of  justice  which  corpor- 
ate power  has  tied  down. 

Commercial  Monopolies  are  also  growing  to 
alarming  proportions.  The  Standard  Oil  Company, 
The  Hawaiian  Sugar  monopoly  and  Ihe  Steel  Rail 
Manufacturers  combination,  are  sufficient  illustra- 
tions of  the  direction  in  which  we  are  drifting. 

WHAT   CAN   THE   PEOPLE   DO  ? 
They  can  organize  an  Anti-  Monopoly  League  in  every 
State  and  county  and  district  in  this  broad  land.  They 
can  put  votes  and  an  honest,  patriotic  purpose  against 
money. 

They  can  combine  those  who  believe  in  public  morals 
and  in  the  principles  upon  which  our  Government  was 
founded,  against  those  who  think  they  are  obsolete  and 
that  money  is  king. 

They  can  disregard  party  lines,  and  "in  every  district 
and  at  all  times,"  throw  a  solid  vote  against  candidates 
who  will  not  pledge  themselves  to  protect  the  public 
interest  against  the  encroachments  of  corporations. 

The  following  are  the  declarations,  principles  and 
methods  ot  the  League : 

DECLAKATIONS. 

The  Anti-Monopoly  League  earnestly  calls  attention 
to  the  relations  of  corporate  and  public  rights  as  the 
most  important  question  before  the  American  people  at 
this  time. 

Steam,  electricity  and  machinery,  controlling  factors  in 
the  industrial  and  commercial  world,  have  been  largely 
monopolized  and  the  public  taxed  unduly  for  their  use. 
> Corporate  life  practically  immortal  in  its  duration, 
wieiding  these  great  powers,  has  assumed  an  impor- 
tance never  before  known  or  contemplated,  and  it  is 
aot  only  rapidly  eonoentrating  the  wealth  of  the  nation 


16 

In  few  hands  to  the  detriment  of  the  masses,  but  to  per- 
petuate this  state  of  things  it  has  sought  political  power 
and  corrupted  our  elections  and  legislation  to  an  extent 
that  not  only  Imperils  public  morals  but  endangers  our 
free  institutions. 

That  this  is  true  is  known  of  all  men.  Official  investi- 
gations have  d(  monstrated  it;  our  everyday  life  has 
proven  it.  We  therefore  declare  that  organization  of 
the  people  is  necessary  to  maintain  the  following 

PRINCIPLES. 

Anti-Monopoly— 

We  advocate,  and  will  support  and  defend,  the  rights  of 
the  mamj  as  against  privil  grs  for  the  few. 

Corporations,  the  creation  of  the  Slate,  shall  be  con- 
trolled by  the  Stat?. 

Labor  and  Capital-allies,  not  enemies ;  justice  for  both. 

In  accordance  with  these  general  principles  we  affir  m 
that  the  public  welfare  and  public  safety  demand  the 
following  specific  measures  of  relief:  j 
,  1.  Laws  compelling  transportation  companies  to  base 
their  charges  upon  the  "cost  and  risk  of  serviee,"  with 
a  fair  profit  added,  instead  of  the  new  theory  advanced 
by  them— "what  the  traffic  will  bear;"  laws  to  prohibit 
the  establishment,  through  construction  companies  or 
other  devices,  of  a  fictitious  cost  for  works  of  a  public 
nature;  prohibiting  unjust  discriminations  against  both 
citizens  and  localities:  Railroad  Commissions,  State  an* 
National  with  adequate  powers  to  see  that  these  laws 
are  enforced;  a  liberal  policy  toward  our  waterways, 
which,  during  the  season  of  navigation,  are  potent  in 
preventing  exorbitant  charges  by  railroads. 

2  More  efficient  laws  against  the  crime  of  bribery  and 
for  the  protection  of  the  purity  of  the  ballot.  A  prohibi- 
tion of  free  passes.  .  .  .  ., 

3  A  Public  Service  founded  on  capacity  and  integrity. 

1  Public  Lands,  the  common  inheritance  of  the  whole 
people,  should  be  reserved  for  actual  settlers. 

5  Currency,  the  measure  of  values,  whether  metallic 
or  paper,  should  be  equal  to  coin,  and  be  issued  and  con- 
trolled by  the  Government  only.  J 

6.  The  known  benefits  of  the  postal  systems  of  other 


17 


countries  to  be  adopted  in  the  United  States ,  including 
the  postal  savings  bank,  and  the  postal  telegraph  and 
telephone. 

7.  A  Free  Press— the  bulwark  of  our  free  institutions 
—must  be  maintained.  Leading  journals  have  been 
purchased  by  monopolists  who  are  endeavoring  to 
control  the  thought  of  the  Nation.  The  journals  which 
are  not  thus  controlled  should  be  sustained  by  the 
people 

For  these  objects  we  declare  that  citizens  should,  with- 
out regard  to  party,  vote  for  Candidates  pledged  to  se- 
cure the  adoption  of  the  above  principles  and  objects. 

That  if  existing  political  parties  are  so  controlled  by 
monopoly  influences  that  they  will  not  give  the  relief 
which  the  public  interest  demands,  then  it  will  become 
the  duty  of  all  good  citizens  to  form  a  new  party  which 
will  give  the  desired  relief. 

That  the  Anti-Monopolists  recognize  the  rights  of 
capital  as  well  as  of  labor  we  appreciate  the  benefits 
which  corporate  organization  has  conferred  upon  the 
human  race ;  we  will  labor  as  steadfastly  to  maintain 
the  rights  of  corporations  as  to  enforce  observance  of 
their  duties,  but  the  time  has  come  when  the  people 
must  organize  to  restrain  the  power  for  evil  wielded  by 
a  few  uascrupulous  men,  who  have  obtained  control  of 
the  great  forces  of  the  century  and  who  in  their  use 
"recognize  no  principle  of  action  but  personal  or  corpor- 
ate aggrandizement." 

METHODS  OF  PROCEEDING. 

To  organize  State,  County  and  District  Leagues. 

To  influence,  so  far  as  possible,  the  nomination  by 
existing  political  parties  of  candidates  who  will  support 
our  principles.  Wnere  such  candidates  are  nominated, 
the  League  will  notify  its  members  of  this  fact  and  in 
such  cases  leave  each  member  free  to  consult  his  in- 
dividual or  party  preferences ;  but  where  one  candidate 
will  and  another  will  not  support  our  principles,  then  all 
party  affiliations  to  be  laid  aside  by  members  of  the 
League,  and  a  solid  vote  cast  for  the  candidate  endorsed 
by  the  League.  If  neither  party  presents  af  candidate 


18 


favoring  our  principles,  then  the  League  will  nominate  I 

and  support  a  candidate. 

HOW  TO  ORGANIZE. 
Wherever  a  citizen  believes  in  the  principles  we  advo- 1 
cate,  let  him  talk  with  friends,  get  together  a  few  Oil 
them  ("if  but  two  or  three  are  gathered  together"  it  I 
will  suffice  for  a  beginning),  resolve  that  a  Branch  Auti- 1 
Monopoly  League  bo  formed,  adopt  the  principles,  ob- 1 
jeots  and  methods  of  proceeding  of  the  Nationa  I 
League,  elect  a  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  anc  I 
proceed  to  extend  the  membership  as  fast  as  possible.  I 
It  is  best  to  organize  upon  the  usual  political  boundaries  I 
or  divisions,  and  where  one  Assembly  District  or  town  is  I 
organized  start  the  movement  in  others  as  quickly  a;- 1 
possible.  As  soon  as  good  men  from  different  parts  of  p  I 
State  can  be  brought  together,  State  organizations  may  I 
be  formed,  which  should  at  once  report  to  the  National  I 
League,  secure  recognition,  and  as  soon  as  this  is  ob- 1 
tained  proceed  to  complete  the  organization  in  every  I 
Assembly  District  in  such  State.  As  this  is  a  non- 1 
partisan  movement  for  the  general  good,  the  action  ol  I 
the  League  in  endorsing  or  condemning  candidates 
should  be  fair  to  all  parties. 

If  a  simple  form  of  constitution  and  bydaws  is  desired, 
it  will  be  sent  on  application  to 

THE  NATIONAL  LEAGUE, 
7  Warren  street,  New  York. 
Membership  rolls  and  other  documents  will  also  b€ 
furnished  in  moderate  quantities  free,  and  in  largei 

quantities  at  cost.  

The  monopoly  candidates  who  give  two  or  three  dol 
lars  for  a  vote  on  election  day,  make  laws  that  cost  th« 
voter  ten  times  that  amount  in  the  course  of  the  yeai 
Even  if  there  was  no  honesty  or  patriotism  involved, 
is  like  selling  one's  birth -right  for  a  mess  of  pottag€ 
How  long  will  wage  earners  vote  to  keep  their  child rei 
cold  and  hungry  in  order  *hat  such  men  may  tra\*el  o) 
free  passes  and  live  upon  the  fat  of  the  land?  It  is  b: 
the  aid  of  such  men  that  corporate  monopolies  p. re  maa< 
possible,  and  that  fortunes  numbered  by 

TENS  OF  MILLIONS  OF  DOLLAE6 
are  suddenly  accumulated,  while  the  masses  of  the  peo 
pi©  are  rendered  poor  and  dependent. 


19 


"Railroad  methods  of  controlling  political  action  were 
exposed  in  1873,  through  the  agency  of  a  railroad  quar- 
rel in  the  State  of  New  York,  resulting  in  the  appoint- 
ment by  the  Legislature  of  a  committee  to  investigate 
the  management  of  the  Erie  Railroad.  The  following  i8 
from  the  report  of  the  committee— testimony  of  Mr.  Jay 
Gould: 

I  do  not  know  how  much  I  paid  toward  helping  friendly  men.  W« 
had  four  States  to  look  after,  and  we  had  to  suit  our  politics  to  circum- 
stances. In  a  Democratic  district  I  was  a  Democrat;  in  a  Republican 
district  I  was  a  Republican,  and  in  a  doubtful  district  I  was  doubtful; 
but  in  every  district  and  at  all  times  I  have  always  been  an  Erie  man. 

The  state  of  things  unearthed  by  this  investigation 
was  officially  described  in  the  report  of  the  Legislative 
Committee,  as  follows : 

It  is  further  in  evidence  that  it  has  been  the  custom  of  the  managers 
of  the  Erie  Railway,  from  year  to  year,  in  the  past  to  spend  large  sums 
to  control  elections  and  influence  egisiation  In  the  year  3868  more 
than  one  million  ($1,000,000)  was  disbursed  from  the  Treasury  for  ''extra 
and  legal  services  "  For  interesting  items  see  -Mr.  Watson's  testimony, 
pages  336  and  337. 

Mr.  Gould,  when  last  on  the  stand  and  examined  in  relation  to  vari- 
ous vouchers  shown  him ,  admitted  the  payment  during  the  three  years 
prior  to  1872  or  large  sums  to  Barber,  Tweed  and  others,  and  to  influence 
legislation  or  elections.  These  amounts  were  charged  in  the  '  India- 
rubber  account"  The  memory  of  this  witness  was  very  defect  ve  as  to 
details, and  he  could  only  remember  large  transactions;  but  could  dis. 
tinctly  recall  that  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  sending  money  into  th« 
numerous  districts  all  over  the  State,  either  to  control  nominations  or 
election- for  Senators  and  members  of  Assembly.  Considered  that,  as 
a  rule,  such  investments  paid  better  than  to  wait  till  the  men  got  to  Al- 
l-any.and  added  the  significant  remark  when  asked  a  question,  that  it 
would  be  as  impossible  to  specify  the  numerous  instances  as  it  would 
be  to  recall  to  mind  the  numerous  freight  cars  sent  over  the  Erie  road 
from  day  to  day.   (See  testimony,  p.  5J6  ; 

And  yet  this  man  is  permitted  to  go  on  rolling  up  his 
millions  year  after  year,  tolerated,  if  not  courted,  by  re- 
spectable citizens  whom  he  placates  by  petty  donations 
for  charitable  and  church  purposes  while  expending 
thousands  in  debauching  legislation  and  corrupting  the 
very  fountain  head  of  justice.  Controlling  the  telegraphs 
and  the  press,  his  editors  preach  peace  on  earth  and  good 
will  to  men  in  one  column,  while  misleading  innocent 
investors  and  vilifying  patriotic  citizens  in  the  others. 


20 

HOW  DID  THEY  GET  IT  7 


The  following  are  recent  estimates  of  the  suddenly 

accumulated  wealth  of  a  few  men  : 
JAY  GOULD  &  CO, 
Seventy-five  Millions  in  Fifteen  years. 

THE  VANDERBILTS, 
One  Hundred  Millions  in  Twenty  Years. 

HUNTINGTON,  HOPKINS  ft  CO., 
(The  Central  Pacific  Syndicate,) 
One  Hundred  and  Eighty-Six  Millions  in, Fifteen 
Years. 

(From  an  investment  of  Twelve  Thousand  Five 
Hundred  Dollars.  See  speech  of  Congress- 
man Daggett,  Feb.  21,  1881.) 

Hundreds  of  others  are  worth  from  one  to  twenty 
millions,  made  i  i  the  same  way  during  the  same 
time. 

Did  They  Get  It  by  Honest  Labor  ? 

If  not,  has  not  this  system  gone  about  fur  enough 

Daniel  Webster  said : 

"The  freest  government  cannot  long  endure 
where  the  tendency  of  the  law  is  to  create  a  rapu 
accumulation  of  property  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
and  to  render  the  masses  of  the  people  poor  and 

dependent.   


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persons  approving  of  the  objects  and  work  oi  thi 
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